Sonja Parry shares secret lives of honey bees

You’ve heard of horse whisperers.

Sonja Parry is a sort of honey bee whisperer.

Sonja is a local beekeeper or “beek’’ as she calls her fraternity of friends with the same “Let it Bee’’ hobbies and small businesses.

“No actual bee whispering here,’’ Sonja says. “Although I do try to be quiet and calm when working with bees. Honey bees do not like loud sounds or fast movements. They pick up on vibrations. Cool, calm and collected is the theory, although sometimes human nature causes me to do a quick swat or movement and that is when I get stung.’’

Sonja has been around bees all of her life.

“My dad, Kenneth Jamvold, had honey bees (Jamvold Apiaries of Leona) and I grew up around them and learned from him,’’ Sonja said recently after she was observed performing what she called “a trap out’’ in Holton. She said her dad died before she got started beekeeping so she has to go by memory regarding bee-preparation things she learned from him.

“I rarely do this (trap outs) as normally established unwanted honey bees are inside the wall of a structure and it takes a lot of in-depth work to remove them,’’ she said.

The trap out that Sonja was called to do in Holton recently, however, involved working to remove honey bees from a big hole in the trunk of a tree. The tree trunk was covered with screen wire in a fashion so bees could get out of the tree, but not back in. Sonja said the bees coming back in from their harvest were full of nectar and pollen and unable to maneuver well enough to sting anyone.

“The bees I am removing from the tree are considered an established colony. I was performing what is called a trap out in order to get them (over several weeks) into my super to move home with me.’’

Sonja said the “super’’ is simply the box that honey bees live in and store honey in at the beeyard (also known as the apiarie).

“If I can get the queen bee into the super, then the other bees will pretty much line up single file to follow her into the super,’’ she said. “Once honey bees have been removed (from an unwanted area), all honey and comb need to be cleaned out of the area, too, as the honey will ferment, smell and draw bugs. If not cleaned up and sealed properly, another colony of honey bees may move in.’’

Sonja says she knows of a home in Holton that had honey bees in its walls at least 20 years ago.

“The honey was left and as far as I know to this day the honey still seeps out into the interior wall leaving a stain,’’ she said.

While most people turn and run the opposite direction when confronted with a bee hive or a swarm of bees, Sonja and other beeks really bee-lieve in their ability to sufficiently control how bees bee-have.

Sonja said there are several beekeepers (beeks) in the Jackson County area.

“Most are considered for hobby (25 hives or less), but there are a few larger beekeepers as well,’’ she said. “I am considered for hobby for now. As with any business, it takes a lot of time and money to get built up.’’

Currently, Sonja has honey bee hives on her farm east of Holton year round, she said. She collects swarms during the spring season. She harvests honey from her hives in the fall (provided there is honey to harvest) and offers it for sale.

She says she also assists others in the area with getting started as beekeepers.

“Several of us in the area bounce stuff off each other regarding the care of honey bees,’’ she said. “I also take equipment to grade school classes to talk to students about honey bees and we cook with honey.’’

Beekeeping has been in Sonja Parry’s family for several generations beginning in Norway with her Grandpa Jamvold and his family, she said. The knowledge and tradition just continues to be passed down, she said.

Currently Sonja’s grandson Landan of Holton and niece Harleigh in Atchison “have lots of interest in beekeeping and more than likely one or both of them will be continuing this adventure as well,’’ she said.

Sonja’s husband Marc does not share her enthusiasm about beekeeping, however, she said.

“It took me several years before he finally agreed to let me start this adventure on our farm,’’ she said. “He has helped me collect swarms but this is not his idea of fun.’’

When their daughter Krystle was about nine years old, she helped Sonja and Sonja’s dad extract honey from frames but no bees were around. 

“That’s the closest she ever got to honey bees,’’ Sonja said.

She said her other grandkids have not shown much interest in honey bees yet.

“As long as my bees and I provide them with honey, they are fine with my beek hobby. Their wait for the end product can be agonizing for them at times as they always want to know if we can get the honey early.’’

“There are no cookie cutter rules to follow in beekeeping,’’ Sonja said. “Sometimes beeks (beekeepers) just have to do trial and error to find out what is best for their area.

Sonja sells raw honey.

“Raw honey has not been heated during processing, thus keeping all of the wonderful properties the honey bees have put into it for us, she said.

Some additional information about honey bees:

*A hive consists of queen, worker and drone bees.

*The worker bee, depending on its age, feed brood (nurse bees), make comb, store honey, clean house, guard the entrance or gather honey, pollen, water or propolis. Their life span is about six weeks during the honey production season. The worker bee has a barbed stinger.

*The queen bee egg starts out the same as a worker egg. The egg is fertilized, both worker and queen are fed royal jelly at first, but the worker egg gets less as it matures. Once the queen emerges (as the larger, longer-bodied bee), she takes a virgin flight where she mates with a drone bee. Once mated, she returns to the hive to lay eggs at a rate of about 2,000 eggs per day. The queen has a stinger, but it is not barbed.

*Drone eggs are unfertilized. Drones are only used for mating the queen. Most drones will never mate. The drone that does mate with a queen immediately dies afterwards. The majority of the drones that do not mate are killed off by the worker bees in the fall. Only a few drones will be permitted to live through the winter. 

*The drones spend their days flying to drone congregation areas in the early afternoon and flying home just before dark. They spend their lives in hopes of finding a queen to mate. Drones do not have a stinger. 

*What do honey bees do in the cold, winter months? Honey bees head to their hive when temperatures drop into the 50-degree range. As temperatures cool, the honey bees gather in the central area of the hive to form a winter cluster. Their main objective is to keep the queen warm and to care for her.

*The worker bees will keep the center of the cluster at a constant 80 to 90 degrees. During warmer days, the worker bees will briefly fly out to eliminate waste, do house cleaning (dragging out dead bees and any other debris). They like a clean home. A cluster of honey bees can consume approximately 30-50 pounds of stored honey during the colder months.

*Swarms are a cluster of bees that have left their hive/home. These bees are looking for a new home and will create a cluster on low hanging branches, deck rails, etc.. They will remain there until one of the scout bees has located a new place for them to live.

“I try to find them when they are still in the swarm stage,’’ Sonja said, “before they have found a tree or wall to move into. I bring my bee equipment and basically can just put my hand into the center of the cluster and move them to my hive super that I have with me. I then close them up tightly to take them home. I do not know if the bees come to know me,’’ Sonja said. “I assume the potential is there since they know their own pheromones and may possibly know mine.

*Swarms are generally calm and too busy taking care of the queen and trying to find a new home,’’ Sonja said. “More than likely they do not even realize you have seen them, but do not try to get close or disturb them. Call a local beekeeper, exterminator or law enforcement. Many beekeepers have given their information to exterminators and law enforcement for this.’’

Sonja has been stung by bees, three or four times all at once, but said it was her own fault. 

“I have either moved too fast, as honey bees do not like fast movements, accidently pinched one when bending over or decided to work with them when weather was not the best for them. They get stressed just like any other livestock when weather is changing to be stormy. I have learned that if you scrape the stinger out versus pulling it out, not as much venom will be pushed from the venom sac into your system.’’

*If you have an allergy to bee stings, then medical attention should be sought and home remedies should not be tried.  A couple of methods are: 1. Apply ice for 20 minutes, followed by small dab of honey and cover with gauze for 30 minutes to an hour. 2. Use the broadleaf plantain, this is a weed that is common in our area. These methods could be easily obtainable while you are out on an outdoor adventure and get stung. To use, pick a leaf, crush it to get the juices out, then press the juicy leaves against the sting and cover with moist towel for 30 minutes.

*There are many home remedies such as baking soda and vinegar, toothpaste, crushed garlic and meat tenderizer. Should you decide to use any of these, they should be followed by cleansing the area and applying an over-the-counter antibiotic cream to help prevent infection.

*Honey bees do not like dark colors or fast movements.

*They can be calm or aggressive, just like any livestock (yes, they are now considered livestock by government).

*Imported honey has recently had more attention drawn to it in the U.S. due to several countries watering it down with sugar water and calling it Pure Honey.

*Honey will eventually turn to a sugar substance, it is still good, just needs jar placed in some warm water to break it back down into honey. The longer it takes to go to sugar, the more cured out it is (Moisture causes honey to sugar).

* “Bees Knees’’ is a term that came from people observing honeybees coming back to their hive loaded with pollen, hence they were said to have Bees Knees.

*Nectar is brought back to hive where bees spit it out to make the honey.

*Bees have two dances. These dances tell other bees where the best location is to find pollen/nectar. The dances give direction and distance.

*Most exterminators will not spray to kill honey bees unless they have been deemed non-removable by a beekeeper and are posing a threat.

*Honey comes in different flavors naturally. This is determined by the plants 

that the honey bees they harvest from and area where they are geographically located.

*Honeybees are responsible for 1 in every 3 bites of food we eat.

*A jar of honey will remain edible for more than 3,000 years.

*A total 2 million flowers must be visited to make 1 pound of honey (A honey bee can visit 50-100 flowers during one collection trip).

*A hive of bees must fly 55,000 miles to produce a pound of honey.

*In Kansas, one hive can produce 60-100 pounds of honey per year.

* An average worker bees makes only about 1/12 teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.

*U.S. Highway 75 is a corridor for honey bee transport for pollination of large orchards/fields.

*Honey bees can be purchased versus finding them in the wild.

*To calm bees, Sonja uses a smoker. 

“The smoke helps to calm them. It also makes the bees think there is a wild fire, so they hurriedly collect honey from the hive to carry out with them. The honey weighs them down so they are not as apt to sting.’’

*The world cannot exist without honey bees, Sonja said, “unless the world can figure out how to survive without food.’’

*Honey bees are very smart. They have a built in GPS system, keep a very clean house and have engineer skills in order to build their six sided comb from scratch,’’ she said. “They can heat and cool their hive using their wings and have been self-sufficient for centuries.’’  

*Honey Bee predators would be various mites, toads, lizards, skunks, birds and bears to name a few. Insecticides are also very harmful to the honey bee. 

*As honey bees gather pollen and nectar for their survival, they pollinate crops such as apples, cranberries, melons and broccoli. Some crops, including blueberries and cherries, are 90-percent dependent on honey bee pollination; one crop, almonds, depends entirely on the honey bee for pollination at bloom time.

*For many others, crop yield and quality would be greatly reduced without honey bee pollination. In fact, a 1999 Cornell University study documented that the contribution made by managed honey bees hired by U.S. crop growers to pollinate crops amounted to just over $14.6 billion.

*Each year, American farmers and growers continue to feed more people using less land. They produce an abundance of food that is nutritious and safe. Honey bees are very much a part of this modern agricultural success story. It’s estimated that there are about 2.4 million colonies in the U.S. today, two-thirds of which travel the country each year pollinating crops and producing honey and beeswax. 

*More than one million colonies are used each year in California just to pollinate the state’s almond crop. The $14.6 billion contribution made by managed honey bees comes in the form of increased yields and superior quality crops for growers and American consumers — a healthy beekeeping industry is invaluable to a healthy U.S. agricultural economy.